Volunteers to install playground equipment Sat. at Gonic School

ROCHESTER — Dozens of volunteers are expected to show up at the Gonic School this Saturday to assist in the implementation of the first piece of custom equipment for the school’s new playground.

The Gonic School PTA Playground Committee, cochaired by Rochester School Board member Matt Pappas and Gonic School Principal Gwen Rhodes, was formed to replace the existing broken school equipment, which can only hold 15 to 20 students at one time.

The committee has raised $47,000 of its $85,000 goal in the last three years, with assistance from the School Board and various nonprofit groups, including community donations. The group will now install the first piece of equipment, the largest of the pieces planned for the new playground, which can hold up to 50 children at one time.

The next step after that will be addressing the ground’s drainage issue, which reportedly turns to mud in the spring now, with plans in place for 2013. The Rochester School Board has so far granted $30,000 to the operation and the committee has plans for a local company to also donate services to rework the area, which would save them another $20,000.

Pappas said everyone’s help this Saturday will save on the cost of labor of the playground implementation. He estimates if the crew works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., they can finish by the end of the day, rather than hire workers for several days.

He noted the School District’s maintenance workers will also assist the team by creating large holes for the equipment. Volunteers will then work to mix cement and fill the holes, in addition to assembling the custom piece, with three slides, monkey bars and a highly anticipated rock climbing wall. The city police and fire departments are also volunteering time and so far, 15 to 20 members of the community have said they will be in attendance.

“Next year, we’ll rip up the rest of the playground to fix the drainage problems, but you can’t do that unless we have something for the kids to play on,” Pappas said. “This will be ample opportunity for kids to play … Once that is finished, we can go and install other equipment.”

Throughout this process, Pappas said his two children, who attend Gonic School, have been his barometer for testing student enthusiasm in the project. He reports he has been hearing good things.

“My oldest daughter asks me constantly about the project,” he said, with a laugh. “She wants daily updates. The kids at school …, they’re all talking about it. We’re trying to drum up a lot of excitement with families, to build awareness. This is not going to be the end of it. There’s a lot more to do.”

The public is invited to assist in the playground assembly this Saturday. Food will be donated by local businesses, including McDonald’s and others in the community.

“It’s going to be hopefully a great community ‘barn raising,’ if you will,” Pappas said.

For more information on the Gonic School playground project, visit gonicplayground.blogspot.com, gonicschoolpta.org or the Gonic School PTA Playground Committee page on Facebook.